Church Point Considers Safety Changes In Wake of Float Accident

Church Point Considers Safety Changes In Wake of Float Accident

Posted: Feb 23, 2009 07:18 PM

Updated: Feb 25, 2009 06:26 PM

Officials in the town of Church Point are considering changes that could improve safety during next year's Mardi Gras parade.

After the parade on Sunday, a float leaving the route, and full of passengers lost control, tipped over and caught fire.

The driver of truck pulling the float, 55-year-old James Young has been cited for second offense DWI, driving under suspension, careless operation of a vehicle, and failure to secure safety chains.

Several of the riders were treated for minor to moderate injuries.

Church Point Mayor Roger Boudreaux says the town will consider an ordinance similar to that approved in Carencro, which bans alcohol in vehicles pulling floats in the parade.

Boudreaux also plans to introduce tougher penalties for those who don't clean up in the days following the festivities.

Tragedy mars Carencro celebration Man Fell Off

CARNIVAL SEASON: Parades draw thousands; see video, photo galleries

Tragedy mars Carencro celebration

Amanda McElfresh • amcelfresh@theadvertiser.com • February 22, 2009

A 23-year-old man was killed in a float accident shortly after the end of the Carencro Mardi Gras parade Saturday afternoon.

The man fell off the front of a float that had just participated in the parade, said Lt. Craig Stansbury, spokesman for the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office. The float then struck the man, and he died from his injuries a short time later.

The accident happened around 1:25 p.m. Saturday in the 1000 block of Gendarme Road. Stansbury said no other floats or vehicles were involved.

The victim's name was not immediately released, pending notification of family members.

During the parade, a deputy with the Lafayette City Marshal's office was injured after he swerved his four-wheeler to avoid hitting a small child.

Carencro Mayor Glenn Brasseaux said Roy Payne fell head-first off of the four-wheeler and suffered a cut on his head and complained of pain in one of his hips.

"He was down for a while, but he was more concerned about the kid," Brasseaux said, adding that Payne also is supervisor with Acadian Ambulance Service.

An ambulance responded to the scene, but Payne did not want immediate medical attention. He planned to go to a hospital later as a precaution, Brasseaux said.

"He was OK. Everybody around there was clapping for him, and the little boy came up and hugged him," Brasseaux said.

Woman injured by boat float in Covington

Emergency workers tend to Sandra Bazor of Abita Springs after she was struck by a float during the Covington Lions Club parade on Tuesday.

Woman injured by boat float in Covington; Fat Tuesday otherwise goes smoothly in St. Tammany Parish

Posted by Benjamin Alexander-Bloch February 25, 2009 3:28PM

On a Fat Tuesday free of major incidents in St. Tammany Parish, something did pop off.

An Abita Springs woman dislocated her knee Tuesday morning when she got clipped by a boat float during the Covington Lions Club parade.

The mishap caused a 15-minute delay in the parade, as Covington firefighters rushed to help 49-year-old Sandra Bazor. She was transported to St. Tammany Parish Hospital, where her knee was popped back into place.

Bazor had approached the float at East Boston and North New Hampshire streets to see her 9-year-old granddaughter, Jasmin Holiday, who "was all dressed up and everything," with braided hair and head-to-toe camouflage.

"She had some beads on her lap, and I hollered 'Baby Girl,' because that's what I call her, and she went around to get something else to give to me, and before I knew it the (boat trailer's) fender hit me in the back of the leg," Bazor said on Wednesday, holed up at home, where she likely will remain for several days.

She fell to the pavement and was in extreme pain, she said, realizing what had happened only because her knee had dislocated several times before, but had always realigned almost immediately afterwards without outside assistance.

Covington Police Department Capt. Jack West said the accident occurred because Bazor wasn't aware the boat trailer's frame was so wide, and that it can be dangerous when people assume such boat floats are only as wide as the trucks pulling them.

"We are now thinking about outlawing boats on the parade because of the problem with the boat fenders sticking out," he said.

Sheriff's Office officials said the Krewe of Chahta in Lacombe rolled without major mishap, and Folsom police said the Krewe of Folsom was also conducted without any significant problems.

Benjamin Alexander-Bloch can be reached at bbloch@timespicayune.com or 985.898.4827.

Eunice Woman Killed in Float Accident

Note: No Inspections required for these tra

ilers, No railings required.

Eunice Woman

Killed in Float Accident

Posted: Feb 25, 2009 07:24 PM

Updated: Feb 26, 2009 07:58 PM

The death of a Eunice woman in the city's Mardi Gras parade has prompted a closer look at parade safety.

20-year-old Hannah Landreneau was killed when she fell from the bed of a truck, and into the path of a parade trailer that the truck was towing. The accident happened on Highway 29 in Eunice just before 2:00pm Tuesday.

Several nurses riding on the float treated Landreneau on scene,

but she died a short time later at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional in Lafayette.

According to St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz, the truck and trailer involved had the proper permits and safety chains. Nonetheless, the manner of Landreneau's death has local officials calling for changes to parade safety.

Guidroz says he is working with the parade association and local officials to draft an ordinance that would increase safety in next year's parade.

Landreneau's parents told KATC's Jim Hummel that they would support such changes in their daughter's memory.

Landreneau was studying psychology at McNeese State University, which released the following statement:

"The McNeese State University family is saddened to learn of the death of our student Hannah Landreneau. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family."

A funeral for Landreneau will be held at 2:00 pm, from the Lighthouse Christian Center in Eunice.

Jim Hummel